the crew arrived unannounced. the 71-year-old got a black eye and bruises around -- all over his body. there was no court order authorizing the eviction. he says it was therefore illegal. he appealed to the kremlin's

human rights commissioner, who said he would investigate. >> it is true they cannot do their work now because they had to leave their office. but it is hard that -- to believe that was the aim of the municipality. the whole thing seems designed to cast the mayor in a bad light. >> nongovernmental organizations believe that this campaign is focused on them as hundreds of their premises have undergone searches. it is a team of election observers which receives funds from abroad. that makes them a foreign agent under the law. golos refused to register as such, so it has been temporarily suspended. >> right before the presidential election in march last year, we had to move offices. and you imagine what that means?

all our phones -- can you imagine what that means? all our phones, all our documents. we had prepared everything for the election, and then they simply threw us out, in utter disregard of the law. in late 2011 and early 2012 -- >> late 2011 and early 2012 saul wave after wave of antigovernment demonstrations. the authorities responded forcefully. tens of thousands gathered in the heart of moscow to call for freedom. they accused authorities of election fraud and to mandate fresh elections. golos -- and demanded fresh elections. golos received funds from organizations in europe and the united states. vladimir putin claimed the americans wanted to promote regime change in russia and were using russian ngo's to further that goal. many ngo's are refusing to

register as foreign agents as required by the controversial law. a do not see themselves as spies or acting for any foreign power -- they do not see themselves as spies or acting for any foreign power. he has taken it to court. he says he is not politically active. he fights for conscripts. he does not expect to win his case. >> there is a clear hierarchy in russia. state prosecutors and judges have to implement decisions taken right at the top. and the powers that be have long since decided that the ngo's should not win any of their court cases. >> for now, he and his team can use the premises of another human rights organization, but they cannot get down to work yet.

he is defiant. he insists he is not a foreign agent and says he will never sign a document saying so. >> the spanish government currently has one goal, get out of the economic crisis and create jobs. the tourism industry is important for that. spain's coastline is popular with travelers from all around europe. until a short while ago, many vacation properties were threatened with demolition -- those that were too close to the sea. but a protection law has changed that. >> she can rest easy again. a conflict about whether the spanish government can confiscate her coastal property has -- >> i am releive -- relieved.

we are not disappointed with what we have done in our lives because we have now been given a sort of amnesty. that means we can live in our homes legally, at least for 75 years. them a we her once before several years ago. -- >> we visited her once before several years ago. she was the official owner. she received a letter dispossessing her. the reason? her home was too near the coastline. >> they should replace our property. they cannot just say you can live here for another 30 years, 40 years, then it reverts to state ownership. i call that fraud. >> her good fortune is that the old coastal protection law, which foresaw a strict

regulation, is no longer in effect. the new conservative government has enacted a new law, which strengthens the rights of property owners. nature protection now takes a backseat. >> it is wrong to want to protect nature and not the property of many people. with the new law, we are helping the owners of beachside property who have worked hard for their possessions. we have to protect them. >> environmental protectionists see the new coastal law as a disaster. during the vote, greenpeace protested on the roof of the parliament building. the reason greenpeace is taking to the barricades is easy to see you all along the spanish coast. towns just for tourists, right on the seaside. monstrous concrete fortresses right near the beaches. many of these hotels should never have been built in this way.

this man has criticized them from the start. he is an environmental activist who is worried that the new law will open the door for buildings that could further blight the country's shoreline. >> the new coastal law was designed to enable even more construction here, despite the fact that existing buildings like this are suddenly legal. the law was dictated by spain's hotel lobby, not i people like us. -- not by people like us. >> the key point of the new law is that buildings no longer have to be at least 100 meters from the water, just 20 meters. for the hotel industry, it is an opportunity to build new hotels near the water in the future. this woman, in contrast, is one of the losers. the new law came too late for her.

>> this is where my house stood. this was the entrance and the garage next to it. there was another entrance up there. >> the house where she was born was demolished a few years ago. >> they came from back over there, police trucks and workers , as well as the head of the coastal authority. i was in the kitchen making coffee. suddenly, they started smashing the windows. they tore everything out. how did i feel? i wanted to die. that day was a nightmare, a nightmare. and a shock for my children. >> her house was too near the shoreline, like countless other buildings the former spanish government had demolished in past years. it was consistent with the law,

but also highly controversial. fishermen and long-established residents were usually targeted, not the hotel owners and their concrete on straw cities, regardless of any protests -- concrete monstrosities, regardless of any protests. >> this pain never stops. the memory of our house is etched into my mind. >> the beach was once the focus of her life. now she comes here very rarely. >> if you are interested in surrealism, come to brussels. renee mag -- rene magritte spent all his life here. if you live or work here, you will quickly find that surrealism is a part of daily life in the city where the eu headquarters are based, strange

as that may sound. >> welcome to the bastion of bureaucracy, over meticulous brussels. everything is regulated, harmonized, and standardized, even the size of tractor seats. but this is also brussels. welcome to the brussels of the belgians. where stairs lead nowhere. where a hall is creatively concealed. where obstacles to street markings are no problem. where superfluous signs don't get removed. and this man documents them. he is 39, a german artist and belgians by choice for the past 11 years. he has created a facebook page -- belgian solutions.

>> it is basically a photo album. there are snapshots of everyday situations in public places where people have found witty solutions to problems, and their way through the day. -- improvising their way through the day. >> and historical example. the town hall is asymmetrical. the right wing was added to the building later. >> in typical brussels fashion, they did not try to harmonize the whole thing, but instead decided to build on to it somehow or other. >> belgians seem to like to cut through things literally, as here at the constitutional court building. >> this is one of the most distinguished buildings where we are standing. , the church where coronations take place, but that does not

count. what counts is the practical value. >> that is what the people who work behind this cut out for also think -- this cutout door also think. >> it has to be easy for us to come in and go out. >> the solution is not always so obvious. >> this is a very sweet situation. in the middle of the pedestrian crossing, there is a traffic light for cyclists in front of a barrier. somehow, a bicycle should be appearing from nowhere. >> now, the solution. >> it is a bit suicidal, so i dismount to cross. something has gone wrong here again. but, you know brussels. >> yes, brussels is chaotic. right next to the european commission, pedestrian crossings lead nowhere. stairs hit barriers or walls,

like the one he shows us on his facebook page. >> i think it is important that it is not a complaint fioru -- forum, because that's not what it is about. but, of course, there are people who will say something or another has annoyed them. often, they are eurocrats. >> he has an answer if the moaners get the upper hand. he looks for an especially amusing subject his fans post on the site, like this adorable christmas decoration or this disabling parking space. they are simply belgian solutions in the capital of the overmeticulous. >> so, now you have a bit of an idea of where we work. remember to keep your eyes wide open if ever you come to brussels. that is it from us from the "european journal" team. bye for now. au revoir.

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